Breakfast: it's the most important meal of the day! Or at least that's what we were all told as children. I've never been a breakfast person. My first meal of the day is usually a few hours after I wake up, though coffee is essential. My body rejects eating breakfast at its traditional time, causing me to feel ill. For a long time I felt that something must be wrong with me. How could my body not allow me eat the day's most important meal?

 As I have been transitioning from a couch-potato lifestyle to a healthier one, I've been doing research on the most effective ways to lose weight. While exercise is crucial, it pales in comparison to the importance of diet. When you think of breakfast which foods come to mind? Pancakes and waffles? Eggs and bacon? Milk and cereal? Seeing a trend? Traditional Canadian breakfast foods are based on the idea that we need to carbo-load to start our day. The Canadian Food Guide, created in 1962, is a dated and inaccurate template for one's diet. The guide breaks nutrition into 4 categories (Vegetables and Fruits, Grain Products, Milk and Alternatives, and Meat and Alternatives), and outlines how many portions of each category are required daily for optimal health. The demonization of fats in favour of carbohydrates is rooted in a set of studies done during the 1950's collectively called the Seven Countries Study. These studies flimsily found a correlation between heart disease and fats based on weak and preliminary results. As more and more studies have come out that refute the claims of the Seven Countries Study we have learned that our bodies don't need lots of empty carbohydrates; we need monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats and nutrients, especially at the start of our day. Why? Because good fats jump start your brain.

   Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are the 'good fats', trans fats are the 'bad fats', and saturated fats are somewhere in between. The difference between the four types of fats comes down to the amount of hydrogen atoms bonded to the carbon chain, and the length of the chain itself. A quick, easy, and efficient way to start your day on the right foot is to drink a morning smoothie that incorporates monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats instead of eating a traditional carbohydrate heavy breakfast. This realization has been extremely beneficial to me, not just in regards to weight loss but also to the way I feel throughout my day. I feel noticeably happier, my brain functions faster, and I'm more ready to handle whatever life throws at me. Now that I've sang the praises of the morning smoothie... 

INGREDIENTS
2/3 cup - Frozen mango cubes
1/3 cup - Plain low fat yogurt
1/4 to 1/2 - 1 Ripe avocado (depends on the size of the avocado)
1 tsp - Ginger paste
1 tsp - Fresh lemon Juice
1/2 tsp or to taste - Cayenne pepper
1 cup - Ice cubes
1/2 cup - Cold water

VARIATIONS:
Add 1 tbsp of coconut oil
Add 1 tbsp of sunflower seed butter
Add 1/2 cup of kale
Add 1/4 cup mint

Combine all ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth or desired consistency. Enjoy!

Mango - High in antioxidants, Lowers cholesterol (vitamin C, fibre, and pectin) clears the skin, improves eye health (vitamin A).

Yogurt - Supports health digestion (pro-biotic rich), excellent source of calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and vitamin B.

Avocado - Source of monounsaturated fat, vitamin K (essential for bone health), and high levels of folate (improves mood, sleep, and appetite).

Ginger - Anti-inflammatory, lowers risk of heart disease, can help fight infection.

Lemon - Vitamin C, detoxifier.

Cayenne Pepper - Headache remedy, prevents blood clots, anti-irritant, vitamin A.

Coconut Oil - Saturated fat containing medium chain triglycerides, brain food.

Sunflower Seed Butter - Magnesium for bone health, protein source, high in vitamin E for skin health.

Kale - High in iron for proper liver function, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, Vitamin A and C, calcium source for healthy bones.

​Mint - Helps digestion, antioxidants.

This is a basic outline for a morning smoothie that works for me. Everyone is different so feel free to experiment and improvise. You know what works best for you.
 
Happy Mornings,

The Free Lion Team

The monkeys have it folks! We're grubby; we live in a pile of dead skin. If you want any moisturizer to work on your skin, you've got to remove that flaky dry layer off first to get to the healthy layers. Your skin is layered, like an onion. Now onions make most people cry but you don't want to cry when you exfoliate!

Here are some key things to have in mind when incorporating exfoliating into your skin care routine. For oily and normal skin, lots of scrubbing and sloughing may not be the answer to reducing your oil production. You may be exacerbating the problem by over-exfoliating. Think of it as gently brushing off the old dead skin rather than scrubbing at the young, living skin. For dry and sensitive skin, be mindful of how your skin is feeling. Go slow and less often.

Natural exfoliants range in hardness, sharpness and durability. General rule of thumb? Soft and gentle for the face; mid-range hardness for the body and full on hard for calloused feet. As always, do a patch test first to make sure your skin isn't irritated.

Here are some natural options for Face Exfoliation

• Ground Oatmeal helps normalize skin pH levels, relieves skin irritation and gently exfoliates dry, sensitive skin.
• Dried Rose Petals have been used since ancient times for skin care. They cleanse, moisturize, fade blemishes and gently exfoliate, leaving a bright, healthy glow. Rose Petals work best for Dry and Normal skin.
• Organic Cane Sugar, small grains, exfoliates while drawing moisture to the skin, leaving a healthy glow. Sugar has rounded edges that won't be too abrasive, especially for Normal skin. The other good news is that it melts quickly so that, by default, you don't over-scrub.
• Dried Lavender flowers gently exfoliate while countering the effects of pollution with their anti-oxidant and anti-bacterial properties. Lavender flowers work best for Normal and Oily Skin.
• Gram Flour, an Indian Beauty routine staple, removes dead cells, excess sebum and dirt, leaving skin clean and smooth. It's brilliant for all skin types.
  

Here are some of the best natural options for exfoliating your body's skin

• Epsom Salts, high in magnesium and sulfate, can reduce inflammation, kill bacterial and flush out toxins while removing dead skin cells. The edges on these crystals are harder than sugar but just the right range for body skin.
• Ground Coffee invigorates and tightens up the skin, decreasing the appearance of cellulite. Ideal for thighs and butts.
  
• Ground Apricot Shells are just hard enough on the skin for a thorough, deep cleansing
  
• Ground Brown Rice exfoliates, detoxifies and deeply cleans the skin while tightening and smoothing
  
• Ground Adzuki Beans have been a staple in old school Japanese Beauty care for centuries. They exfoliate, detoxify and deeply clean the skin while tightening and smoothing and leaving a healthy glow.
  

Here are some natural options for exfoliating your feet.

• Ground Walnut Shell boasts a higher level hardness to scrub tough, calloused skin. Keep this one just on your tough skin bits--it will strip off more than you need on more tender skin. There are other blogs that advise using walnut scrubs on the face. Ok, we tried it and were red and raw for days after, taking a full week to recover.
  
• Pumice stone, for feet that are hard as a rock. This volcanic rock with Swiss cheese like pockets is ideal for scrubbing off callouses. Soak feel first to soften hard skin.
  

When you look in the mirror, consider and reflect on the thoughts that rumble around in your mind. Are they who you really are or someone else's idea about who you should be? Our minds are fluid and we can shift our thoughts at any time. Compassion comes with choice and self-care. Slough off the old expectations and images of yourself so you can nourish and grow the liberating and living pictures of who you actually are. Life's an adventure; enjoy yours!

The Free Lion Team

Spring is a time of New Beginnings. Historically it was a time for celebrating sowing seeds, fertility, renewal and hope. But what does marking this season-change look like in the 21st Century, when our lives are not as driven by agriculture and planting cycles? Spring is a great time to examine the year just passed, to clean out the old, then re-evaluate, plan, and germinate the new.

Last year I read Marie Kondo’s The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I was utterly impressed that the author was able to turn her OCD into a business and a best selling book! Of her entire de-cluttering methodology, the part that stayed with me is keep only that which gives you joy. De-cluttering is seriously underway in our house right now, using the “Joy Method”. When you clear out physical junk and mental clutter, you make room for new stuff and, more importantly, new ideas and new experiences.

Spring Cleaning also extends to your inner world. Your thought patterns directly impact how you feel. In my self-evaluation, I realize I have a lot of thoughts that come up out of fears based on past negative experiences. I feel anxious when these thoughts overtake me. I do not feel joy or a sense of peaceful well being. When it comes to my thoughts, I have a choice. I can keep on in the same fear pattern and expect the same result. Or I can Recognize it, Review it and Replace it.

To do this, I Recognize my feelings and the thoughts that led to them. I give it a rest and Review, shut down that negativity, and review why I'm thinking these thoughts. What's the limiting belief that is giving rise to them? And then its Replace time. I use a variation of Byron Katie’s questions to help me shift perspective. About the fearful thoughts, I ask myself:

1. Is it true?
2. Can you absolutely, actually factually know that it's true?
3. How do you feel when you believe that it’s true?
4. How do you feel if you believed something else?
5. What’s my perspective shift on this situation? Or what’s the silver lining?
   
6. What's the the expansive belief I want to replace this limiting belief with?
   

This process brings be back from the depression precipice by helping me connect with myself, to what I know to be true for me. I know I’ve been successful when I feel lighter and happier.

Okay, so now you’ve cleaned out your junk in your space and in your spirit. It's time to germinate the new, some new ideas, new plans. My life partner Thom and I do this individually first and then as a team. We look at what went right and spend some time being seriously grateful and celebrating! Then we look at what was lousy and problem solve. We try to look at our lives holistically, at all the areas we need to pay attention to in order to experience a healthy, balanced, joyful life.

Then we make a dream board, a way to put on paper our intentions for the year. There are many ways to do this. You can Photoshop collage it, scrapbook it, cut out images from magazines, create Pinterest boards or (what we do)  just write it out on a large sheet of paper, flow chart style. Our map hangs on the wall, as reminder, inspiration and compass for the year. We consciously shape our decisions and choices throughout the course of each year to make us more joyful, fulfilled and satisfied.

This is how I concretize my intentions to create. It helps me connect with the Creative Flow in the earth and within myself. Both can be meditative experiences that give space for that “aha” moment, or for the Muse to speak to or for the imagination to fly. I’ve had some of my best ideas in these moments.
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So take some time this spring to celebrate the new life that surrounds you in nature, and to celebrate the wonder that is YOU. Dream your dream and take steps to germinate it into being. Life is a work in progress. It’s not about perfection; it’s about finding joyful balance.